LoL has gotten a ton of press recently so there has been an influx of people playing. I know PenetrationStation and I are 30, Wheelz just hit it. Artic is almost there. Konatown has completely vanished. Anyone else 30? It'd be nice to get some games going with people we know and get strategies down.
I've been 30 for a while. User name is Fitznoozly, feel free to add, just let me know you're a TiB user otherwise I'll prolly just be confused. I haven't been able to play recently due to the new job, but i'll be around.
If we could set up a time and days that work for everyone I'd be down. We could put TiB in our statuses to avoid confusion.
I'm only 23, and I've been playing for a few months. I only get the chance to play a few times a week though, kinda sucks.
Looks like if you buy a copy of portal 2 on PS3, you get a free copy on PC, and it is going to allow you to link your PSN account to your steam account. I was going to buy it on PC, but with this deal I see no reason to not buy it for ps3. Linky.
If you buy Portal 2 on PC, you get a free copy of the first portal. What I was saying is that if you buy Portal 2 on PS3, you get access to Portal 2 on your PC as well through steam.
Apparently there are a bunch of hints pointing towards Portal 2 being released tomorrow. I just broke down and picked up the Potato Sack on Steam, 13 solid indie games for about $38 sounded like a pretty good deal to me. Anyone played this Amnesia: The Dark Descent? from what I understand it's terrifying.
If you check out http://www.aperturescience.com/a/b/c/d/g/h/abcdgh/, you'll see GLaDOS is requiring some sort of power cycling to get up and running. If you wait long enough, it will switch over to a new page that shows how many users are required to release it early. Edit: It's the playing the Potato Sack games that will eventually unlock it earlier than Tuesday if enough people play the games. I just wish it meant that it would be released early for console systems as well, instead of just PC. I'd also like to point out how fucking brilliant the guys at Valve are. The ARG that was associated with this game was incredible.
I wanted to continue this discussion from the COD thread, but it should probably branch off here into the general discussion instead: I have some follow-up questions: How long would it be until a new generation of consoles are in order? I'm not necessarily talking about the Move or the Wii, because those almost cater to their own market altogether, but rather, consoles that would replace the PS3 and the 360. It seems like a lot of these "cutting-edge" games (especially in the FPS genre) are really testing the limits of what these machines are capable of. More and more information is being packed into them, which leads to a higher frequency of lag and dropped frames as a result. Have the games outgrown their consoles, and should replacements be in the works as a result? As far as I know, the 360 Slim doesn't have any performance advantages over its predecessors; it's simply more energy-efficient. At least, that's what I've been told. I don't have the expendable income to buy one and find out for myself just yet.
I also have some unrelated questions for nobody in particular. They're directly related to what I'm working on, and I'm looking for as much feedback as possible. Controller designs have seen many evolutions over the years, and yet often times, people accept them for as they are, rather than what they could be. There are some inherent limitations to what current console controllers enable players to do. So let's pretend the sky's the limit here: what's the next step? For the 360 or the PS3 in particular, what do you guys especially like/dislike about their standard controller designs? Which buttons/joysticks would you keep? Which buttons/joysticks would you like to see replace/modified? Do controller setups like the Razer Onza TE offer any features you'd like to see become more commonplace? Would you eliminate the D-pad altogether? How about replace the D-pad with a third analog stick? Do you prefer the loose tension of PS3 analog sticks or the relatively tighter tension of the Xbox? Would you prefer to make them even looser/tighter, as the Onza TE does? Are 4 bumpers better than 2? How about 4 triggers? Could the overall shape be more ergonomically-friendly? If so, how? Does a fully-plastic shell suit you, or would you prefer rubber tips/trim for increased handling/comfort? What do you feel were some design flaws of past controllers, and why didn't they work for you, specifically? These are all I have at the moment, and I don't necessarily have answers of my own for all of them. I've been doing a lot of brainstorming lately for my current project, and rather than design my game around the controller, I've toyed with the idea of designing the controller around the game, while maintaining a general design that would translate well to other games. To give you an idea of what I'm going for here, part of my answer to the last question would address the N64 design. I always felt like it was inefficient, especially for games like Goldeneye 007, where you'd have to take your hand off the controller entirely to access the D-pad. While I'm not exactly sure which direction I'd like controllers to go in the coming years, I know that anything resembling the N64, at least as far as the joystick/d-pad relation goes, is one direction that I don't want them to go (or go back to, to be technically correct). If anyone wants to throw out any answers they have for these questions (and there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, since it's all based on opinion), I'd love to hear them. Any questions you could add to this list would be great, too. This stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum, and any feedback would be extremely helpful.
Not sure when we will see the next gen Microsoft and Sony consoles, but from what I've been seeing Nintendo will be debuting their next console at the next E3 in June and it will be available sometime in 2012. From past experience I would say that Sony and Microsoft will be no more than a year to 18 months behind them, so 2013 is my best guess. Of course, I also seem to remember reading something along the lines of the Kinect being a sort of half-generation console that will extend the lifespan cycle of the 360, but I'm not sure I could say the same of the PS Move. Based on that I was really expecting not to see another xbox for quite a while longer, however if Nintendo has a new console on shelves in 2012, with Sony doing the same not long after that, I think Microsoft would be foolish to not keep up. As far as your questions about controllers, I feel the current 360 controller is damn near perfect, with the Dual Shock 3 being good but not as good. I'm not really a big fan of the motion control stuff, I prefer sitting back and being comfortable and playing my games with a standard controller. Also, I've seen you mention before that you were planning on working on your own game. What kind of scope are you looking at? Do you have anyone else that will be working with you? I'm curious about your comments about designing the controller around the game, how would you go about doing that?
If you replaced the directional pad on the 360 controller with one that doesn't blow complete ass it would be the perfect controller. Still the best controller created to date.
For the D-pad thing, what do you think of the changes they made with the Razer Onza? This video demonstrates how it could potentially be better. While I don't engage in "console wars," I identify as a 360 guy, mainly because it's what my ex bought me a week after MW2 came out. It was my first console I'd ever personally owned; it was all PC up to that point. Dating cute gamer girls who happen to work at GameStop definitely has its benefits. Having said that, do either of you take issue with the way the right and left analog sticks aren't placed symmetrically with each other on the 360? Because I definitely do. I often find myself, as I wait the usual 10-15 minutes in a Black Ops pre-game lobby, hovering my left thumb where the D-pad is, and thinking to myself, "Yeah, this unsurprisingly makes a lot more sense." It's one area where I feel Sony did a better job than Microsoft. Maybe it's just my mild OCD kicking in that screams, "Ur doing it wrong!" I now turn to our esteemed, 5'2" ruler to illustrate what I mean: Spoiler I'd actually prefer the tension of the PS3 analog sticks over those of the 360, but only with certain games. With faster-paced stuff, I may want something a bit more taut. That's why I like the looks of that Razer Onza controller I linked to earlier. For now, all I can really say is that I'm aiming for an online FPS. While I don't intend to create a Call of Duty clone (or a clone of any game, for that matter), COD is primarily what I know, and it's going to be evident in my game. Much of my inspiration has come from that series (namely, the 3 that I've played: COD4, MW2, and BO), but I'm also drawing in ideas for structuring the game's layout from, literally, over a dozen other games, some of which aren't even of the FPS genre. Again, I can't really go into much detail. The cardinal rule for intellectual property (and I've heard this from MANY people, including my art major roommate from last year and my good friend [John] who's working alongside me on the game) is that you keep everything close to the chest, and tell nobody except for maybe parents and close friends who you really trust. Until you get your name stamped on it, you don't tell anybody shit. I've probably told a few extra details to a couple people on here via PM already, but I'd say 98% of what I have I haven't revealed to anyone except John (that's not his real name, but you never know with Facebook these days...srsly). I have nothing constructed for a single-player mode (yet), but I haven't ruled out the possibility of putting out an online-only game. I would never want to isolate a chunk of the gaming community like that if I could help it (people like our friendly resident Durbanite), but most of my emphasis so far has been on multi-player capabilities. We'll eventually try to branch over to single-player, but if we can't put together something that we can be proud of in that format, I wouldn't dream of wasting our energy, nor potential players' time and money, on a half-baked game. However, I wouldn't let the lack of single-player hold back what I consider to be the buddings of a legitimately good game (all hubris aside; I'm very mindful to avoid that at all costs). Part of why I try to keep up so much on new games is for the intrinsic interest I have in them, but there's also a motivation to learn what I can, to find out what makes them tick, and how they can be improved. When Crysis 2 has people readily abandoning COD or Halo (as some people I know have), heads are bound to turn and wonder, "Why? What have they done differently" It's still a booming industry, so there are constantly newer ways in which game mechanics are being constructed, and newer ways in which their stories are being told, due to improvements in technology and creativity. From the MotionScan feature being used for L.A. Noire, to the awesomeness that is Mass Effect 2, the boundaries are continually being pushed. So far, only my friend John (mentioned above), who majors with computers and has been gaming most of his life, just like I have. The difference is that he has actual experience through his major, making games and designing various programs from scratch, using C++ and Java, among others. He's wanted to eventually design his own video game to release the public for a long time, so he's been helping me out a lot, and this has become a two-man process. We're well aware of how high the chips at these tables are stacked, so we're not taking it lightly. We know at some point, we'll require additional manpower/resources. I, on the other hand, simply decided to put my money where my mouth is. Rather than gripe about, "[Company] should have known better than to [add/remove/modify] [hated/loved game attribute]. They suck at making games!" I decided to leave the Peanut Gallery and try my hand at it. Basing my likes/dislikes from my own gaming and FPS experience, I decided to incorporate all the aspects which I feel are essential to a good shooter, and omit the ones that aren't as successful, or at least modify them so that they are. I'm being mindful to discern my personal biases from ones that the gaming community. Even though this game started out for myself (my initial goal, simply, was to make a game that I would enjoy), this would also be something I hope many other gamers would like as well. I've worked on this in some fashion for no less than 60 hours a week, every week, since mid-February. I currently have a collection of notebook sheets, 34 pages on MS word, and about a half-dozen Excel spreadsheets outlining everything I have up to this point. It's something I've become very passionate about lately, and I've become much more interested in the process of creating, rather than playing. I feel kind of like God, knowing I can add or remove aspects of the game at will. This must be what Kanye West feels like ALL of the time... The course of action was, first off, to get a machine capable of game design. Bam, he drew up the components on Excel for a home-built PC on TigerDirect.com in under an hour. For $1,300, I can build a PC that could damn near have its own space program. I can post the schematics we have so far, in case anyone here with PC-building background would like to offer any suggestions, or just look at the list out of curiosity. Next, we plan on using the Unreal Development Kit to build our game, UDK is free, and the licensing terms are quite lenient, with regards to releasing a finished game commercially. The program, in theory, will more than allow us to do all the things we want with this game. It just requires a lot of specifications to have ideal development conditions, like 8GB of RAM, at minimum. That's where the home-built PC comes into play. Beyond that, it becomes a matter of honing the game's attributes, and lots of debugging, testing, and balancing. "Balance" might as well be The Word for this project, as far as I'm concerned. Above all else, I want something that can cater to everyone, while still keeping things interesting (obviously, that's easier said than done). We also have several mutual friends in various IT fields/majors, so we're bound to add a few faces along the way. We're mindful of not taking on TOO many people, because (a) I'm very micro-managerial by nature, and this game has been my baby since I first started making blueprints to it, and (b) we don't want too many conflicting artistic inputs in the development process. Marginal utility of labor and whatnot. At least, not until we set a good foundation for the game (which we believe we have). Long term, we hope to get a patent on a fully-functional title, and possibly use it as a jumping-off point for our own video game developing company. Like I said, it's a young industry, and there's plenty of room for entry.* * - That's what she said! Aahaha...wait, what? Oh, never mind. Not funny. I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. What I intend by that is to make my game however I see fit, in ways that can push the boundaries of what players can be challenged to do with a few thumbsticks and a dozen buttons, without letting any current controller design get in my way. Should I feel the need to add a button here or shift the controller's shape there in order to give more control to the player, I'd like to do so in a way that could also be seamlessly utilized in the future by any other game, from indies all the way up to AAA titles. This is entirely contingent upon costs, of course, but I feel like enough tinkering can produce some very efficient prototypes. I'd like to get a hold on one of those six-pointed screwdrivers, so I can fuck with my spare controllers and see if I can make some magic happen. The Onza is, I feel, an improvement in every conceivable way over the standard 360 controller, and (again, personal bias here) I think switching the D-pad and left analog stick would make it better than the PS3, as well. Granted, this controller is primarily geared towards "more enthusiastic gamers," but check it: it's only 25% more than a standard wireless 360 controller.
"...possesses, as a whole. What's fun for me isn't necessarily what's fun for most gamers. Staying objective is key." That's what was supposed to go in there at some point. Proofreading is for pussies. With that, I'm off to bed. Sorry for the fucking book report; hopefully the answers to your questions are in there somewhere.
1. The 360 controller has always just felt right. I know that it's completely subjective, but having the analog stick closer to my hand just makes more practical sense to me. All the buttons are easy to reach and don't have the analog squishiness of the DualShock. I also don't like the Dualshock triggers. My fingers tend to keep slipping off of them. 2. 3 analog sticks are overkill. The D-Pad is there because sometimes, a digital input is needed (fighting games especially). 3. I like the 360 tension. I feel like I have more control. 4. 2 bumpers and 2 analog triggers seems to be the sweet spot. I can't imagine a situation where I'd need 4 of each. 5. Yeah, copy the 360 design forever and ever. 6. I'd like some kind of breathable option so my hands don't get so damned sweaty. Nothing I hate more than to miss a kill in CoD or something because my finger slipped. 7. I'm of the belief that the Dreamcast had the best controller feel. Analog stick was perfect. Analog triggers were perfect. D-Pad was perfect. Didn't like that it felt kind of squished together. And it was aesthetically shitty looking.
Amnesia is a lot of fun. Play it in the dark with the lights off. I've never played a horror game with such a great atmosphere before. Not being able to attack monsters you encounter definitely adds an element of suspense too.
I agree with Jimmy James, I feel like the 360 controller is damn near perfect, and I love the placement of the analog sticks. In fact, I sometimes even forget that the D-Pad is there. For instance, in Tiger Woods 12, I couldn't figure out how to aim my own shots (opposed to just taking the caddy suggested shot, I haven't played a golf game since the gamecube I think). I tried all the buttons...except the fucking D-Pad (which is what you use) because I completely forgot about it. That's also because I don't ever actually look at the controller when I'm playing games.